Cotton-drying machine.



N. H. BBNBPIELD.

COTTON DRYING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21, 1913.

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COTTON DRYING MACHINE.-

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21, 1913.

1,068,845. Patented July 29, 1913.

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Specification d! Letters iatent. 1 h ihaawiioh iue'a lurch 21, me. serial in. 186026.

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PatentedJuIyZQJIQlQ raanmamma sm Be it known that 1, meme H.

' siding at DanviIIe, inthe cduin'tybf mm, a citizen of the United states, re-- sylvania and State of Vii'gihia, h'a've in-I ented new and astral Iinpiovemehts' in Cotton-Drying Machines; "of which this fo'lf.

towing is a specification. v This invention relates to 'cdttdn di machines, the dbj ect ofthe ing to; provide a machine whei'e'by damp;

or wet cotton may fed cohtii'nlousl along a determined path and dried with: out injury or cul'a'ting current or volume (it hot air.

or heating, 4 v air for rapid drying action oh the cotton;

danger of catching tire, of a edr'itinuonsly cirq f through the pipes 16 and A further-object of the invent-ion is toi provide simple, reliable and efiicient fmeehs 5' circulating and distributing the construction, sad arrangement of parts hereiha ter any described and claimed, reference-being had'to the steam- Figure 1 is a sectional elevation clff a "obt- -tondrying machineeiiibddying my inven tion. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sec-:.

tion on the line 22 of Fig. 1; 3 is a. sectional plan view 'on line3-=31ofFig 1. Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a suitable base or floor, upon which is 'supported a drying chamber 2 having an inlet 3 for the introduction of the moist or wet cotton and an outlet 4 for the discharge of the dried cotton. Arranged for travel lon- L gitudinally within the drying chamber between said inlet and outlet is. an endless belt or apron'5, mounted on drums or rollers 6 and 7 the roller 7 having attached thereto a gear wheel '8. This gear wheel 8 meshes with a gear. 9 with driving shaft 10 provided with fast and loose pulleys 11 and 12 for cooperation with a drive belt 4 13 receiving motion fromany suitable source of power, whereby the apron 5 is in the drying operation "eontinuously driven, but may be thrown into and out of operation whenever required. I Disposed within the top of the drying chamber is a hot airsupplypipe 14, be-

tween which and the upper stretch of the apron 5-is arranged a divider 15, consist- 14 into the drying chamber is caused to ply of the hot air themes ear distribution.

- again, the air thus reheated being returned pass uniformly "'down through the perfora-..

tions in the plate to act upon an portions of theocotton carried by the upper" "stieth; cf the apron. 5, thus insuring the even sup 0 to the *cot ton and the even and 'ieg'ulated drying of the latter. The air is supplied to the pipe 14 throagh *a' pipe 16 communicating at its outer end with a "compartment or casing 17 whidh is arranged a suction and distrib- Iuting fan or blower 18. v The casing 17 is y? in commenication through a pipe 19 with a hdt an furnace, heater or generator. 20 of any suitable type, from which the hot air isfsuclced by the fan 18 and then forced 14' into the Arranged within the base of the-drying chamber-and inspaced relation to the floor h 1 is a suction *box 21 above and in spaced The invention conslst's 0 f the features of relation to which is a hood for deflector '22, at 'eoncavo-convex tom, of less superficial anaemia-es than the suction :box and having its concaved side facing the same. can. Inunieating centrally with this hood is *asuction pipe 23; "connected by a return pipe a; whdactr 2'4 with a chamber "or casing 25 in which is arranged a suction and discharge fan 26 communicating through a 35 pipe 301 duct 27 with the generator casing 20. The hot air impelled downwardly through the fibers of the cottonand belt and apron 5 is drawn by the suctional action of the fan 26 into the suction box 21 and into the space between the same and the hood 22,. and through the pipes 23 and 24= to the casing .25, whence it is delivered back to the generator 20 to be heated over to the drying-chamber by the action of the fan 18, whereby a continual circulation of hot air through the drying chamber is pror d'uced. v

The cotton to be dried is placed iii a con ical hopper 26' provided at the lower end thereof with a s ur feed roller 27 partially projecting into the box or receptacle 28,sinto which hopper extends an inclined feed apron 29 provided with spikes or spurs whereby the cotton fed into the hopper is loosened up and moved by the action of the roll 27 into engagement with the upwardly travel.- ing stretch of the belt 29, the teeth of which engage and convey the cotton to the inlet 3, through which it is deposited upon the adjacent end of the apron 5, and is thereby carried through the drying chamber and delivered through the outlet 4 in a thoroughly dried condition to any suitable type of re-' ceptacle. The box or receptacle 28 may serve as a tool holder, as Well as to receive and save any small particles of cotton which may fall downward between the roll 27 and belt 29. The fans 18 and- 26 and the roll 27 and apron 29 may be operated in practice by any suitable type-of drive gearing, which may receive motion from the same source of ower as the belt 13.

rom 'the foregoing description taken in connection with the drawings, 'it will beseen that my invention provides a cotton drying apparatus whereby the eottonmay be caused to travel continuously in a determined path and to be subjected'in its travel to the action of a current or volume of hot air uniformly supplied to uniformly and thoroughly dry the same, and whereby the continuous supply of a proper amount of air is insured.

1. In a cotton drying ap aratus, the combination of a drying cham r havingmn inlet and an outlet, a cotton conveyin apron arranged to travel in said chamber etween said inlet and outlet, a hot air generator,

-means for supplying the hot.air from the generator to the top of the drying chamber,

and uniformly distributing itdown through the cotton on the apron, and means for exhausting the air from the bottom of the.

drying chamber and returnin ittto the, generator for reheating and reclrculation.

2. In a cotton dryin ap aratu's, the com-5 bination of a drying c am er hav ng an.in-'

let and an outlet, an endless cotton conveying apron arranged to travel in said chamber between said inlet and outlet, means for feeding cotton to the apron through the inlet, a hot air generator, a hot air supplying device in the top of the drying chamber, means for drawing hot air from the gener ator and forcing it through said hot air suplet and an outlet, an endless belt arranged to travel in said chamber between said inlet and outlet, a hot air generator, an air supplying device in the top of the drying chamber, a erforated distributer between the same and t e apron, meanszfor drawing the air from the generator and supplying it to said supplying device, means for feeding the cotton to the apron through the inlet, a suction 'device within the bottom of the. drying chamber including a hood, a suction pipe communicating with the hood, and means for withdrawing the air through said suction device and pipe and returning the same to the generator for reheating and recirculation.

In testimony whereof Lafiix my signature in presence of two witnesses. NEEDHAM H. BENEFIELD; Witnesses: p

v, W, 'L. PARKER,

JOHN W. Es'rLow. 

